- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon
- Biden-Netanyahu to talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- France vows to step up drugs fight after police vehicles torched
- Air France says jet flew over Iraq during Iran attack on Israel
- Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales
- Let 'Emily in Paris' remain in Paris, Macron says
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Record-breaking Root helps England dominate Pakistan in first Test
- German govt sees economy shrinking again in 2024
- Ex-UK soldier denies passing secrets to Iran intelligence
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Three Kosovo Serbs on trial over 'secession plot' attack
- Van Gogh museum to launch Impressionism show
- French minister ups ante in Eiffel Tower Olympic rings row
- Japan PM calls snap election to 'create a new Japan'
- German police shut pro-Palestinian camp over Thunberg invite
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
RIO | -0.54% | 66.305 | $ | |
BTI | 0.95% | 35.559 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.28% | 24.71 | $ | |
SCS | 2.7% | 13.135 | $ | |
BCC | 0.88% | 143.28 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.01% | 24.85 | $ | |
JRI | 0.36% | 13.208 | $ | |
BP | -0.2% | 31.965 | $ | |
RBGPF | -2.48% | 59.33 | $ | |
NGG | -0.12% | 65.82 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.01% | 6.9 | $ | |
BCE | -0.13% | 33.465 | $ | |
GSK | 0.91% | 38.37 | $ | |
AZN | 0.31% | 77.11 | $ | |
RELX | 0.05% | 46.665 | $ | |
VOD | 0.77% | 9.735 | $ |
Biden in Europe to bolster West's unity, toughen Russia sanctions
President Joe Biden arrived in Europe Wednesday on a mission to bolster Western unity and ramp up unprecedented sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and brutal bid to upset the post-Cold War balance of power.
Underlining how serious the crisis raging in eastern Europe has become, Biden told reporters as he boarded the Marine One helicopter at the White House that he sees "a real threat" of Russian chemical warfare against Ukraine.
With Russian troops increasingly bogged down, the possibility that President Vladimir Putin could order chemical, biological or even tactical nuclear strikes to subdue Ukraine will be one of the dire scenarios discussed at back-to-back NATO, G7 and EU summits in Brussels on Thursday.
Biden, who is set to give a news conference at NATO headquarters on Thursday, will fly Friday to Poland, which neighbours Ukraine and is now the frontline in what some call a new Cold War. On Saturday he meets President Andrzej Duda before returning to Washington.
The war in Ukraine has redefined Biden's 14-month-old presidency as he pivots from domestic priorities to leading the transatlantic alliance in the most serious crisis in Europe for decades.
After four years of Donald Trump, who treated European nations as economic competitors and scorned the traditional US role as senior partner in NATO, Biden has put the accent on unity.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters travelling with Biden to Brussels that "what we'd like to hear is that the resolve and unity that we've seen for the past month will endure for as long as it takes".
Sullivan said that economic sanctions, imposed by a global network of Western allies to cripple Russia's finances, will be deepened in the summits.
"We, the United States, will announce a package of sanctions designations tomorrow that relate both to political figures, oligarchs... as well as entities," Sullivan said.
Western partners were also looking to "coordinate on sanctions enforcement so that Russian efforts to evade the sanctions can be dealt with effectively".
- China question -
In comments on Tuesday, Sullivan noted Ukraine's military resilience, which has been assisted by large-scale Western arms shipments, but he warned against any presumption of a quick end to the war or a climbdown by Moscow.
"There will be hard days ahead in Ukraine, hardest for the Ukrainian troops on the frontlines and the civilians under Russian bombardment," Sullivan said. "This war will not end easily or rapidly."
If the conflict does drag on, Russia's ability to weather military losses and the crushing Western economic sanctions may partly depend on the position taken by its authoritarian partner China.
Beijing has refused to condemn Putin's war, but Washington hopes at least to dissuade China from actively helping the Kremlin, either by bailing out the Russian economy or sending weapons.
Sullivan said there was no sign that China was providing military assistance in the wake of a nearly two-hour phone call between President Xi Jinping and Biden last Friday.
"This is something we are monitoring closely," he said.
"The president will certainly consult on the question of China's potential participation in the conflict of Ukraine while he's in Brussels. He'll do so at NATO," Sullivan said.
"He'll also do so when he addresses the 27 leaders of the European Union, because on April 1st, the European Union is having a summit with China," he added.
"We believe we're very much on the same page with our European partners."
D.Cunningha--AMWN